REMARKS
Council Member Ariola advocates for Intro 807 to establish pre-designated flood shelters
0:15:28
ยท
119 sec
Council Member Joann Ariola expresses strong support for Intro 807, which aims to establish pre-designated emergency shelters for flash flooding events. She criticizes NYCEM's resistance to the bill and argues for the necessity of having identified safe locations for residents in flood-prone areas.
- Ariola emphasizes the importance of giving residents advance notice of safe locations
- She challenges NYCEM's argument against the bill, stating that their resistance is not compelling
- Ariola stresses the need for proactive measures to ensure public safety during flood events
Joann Ariola
0:15:28
Thank you so much.
0:15:29
I would like to I'd like to address the, the bill 807, which I'm currently signing on to because I think it is necessary.
0:15:40
I live in an area and and I also represent an area that is prone to flash flooding, coastal flooding, climate flooding, any type of flooding possible, it we get flooded.
0:15:52
And council member Silvina Brooks Powers, who is the prime sponsor of this bill, is my adjacent council member.
0:15:59
So I just don't understand in your testimony and your your your resistance to this bill, where you can identify any place for any other reason that you can identify any place in advance to put people where they can be safe or give them advanced notice, and that you don't have the geometric ability to do so when I know that that's not true.
0:16:21
I know the operation that you have.
0:16:22
So people shouldn't have to say, well, maybe I can go to to Far Rockaway High School because it's on higher ground, and I'm just making that up.
0:16:32
But Far Rockaway High School doesn't know that they have to have a super there to open it up.
0:16:36
People in our communities are at risk every time there is a flood.
0:16:40
We need to have places identified.
0:16:43
We need places that we can hand out to our constituents that say this is the place that you can go because this is at higher ground.
0:16:51
Not at the time when you are leaving to flee because your life is in danger, but you can make an intelligent decision to go prior to with your family and your belongings and be there to weather the storm.
0:17:07
So I think that that you can do this.
0:17:09
I think that your argument is not compelling.
0:17:12
And I think that instead of us having to retool the bill, I think you have to rethink what the community needs.
0:17:19
So, council member and majority Whip Powers gave a few questions that she'd like asked, and I will ask them for her.
0:17:27
The first one is inadequate draining and significant contributing factors to localized inland flooding.